What We Do, Matters!

I read the following article in the Huffington Post and felt I needed to share it with us, the church. I am not saying you are right or wrong in how you handle your money, just think about what you do from the "other" side (the world's view) of the process. If we are to "WIN" people to Christ, I think we need to be "above reproach" when it comes to our giving that they are watching.

I have to agree, that back in the day when I did food service, the pastor's I served were the worst at giving. The more "Free" and "Flamboyant" the church was, the smaller my tip would be. Very sad. I would even talk about the Lord with my patrons and they knew I was a believer and yet still, they left pit-tins for a tip.

One of my kiddos worked in the hotel industry and heard how his fellow employees scoffed at Christians who came in because THEY saw so much hypocrisy! Like Christmas parties from well-known ministry names where staff members were drunk, rude and well, worldly. Yes, this is from Christian Ministries. There were all kinds of negative testimonies from year-after-year events with certain ministries that continually had bad impressions. When my child tried to "witness" to the co-workers, they didn't want to hear it, they had seen too much. Sad.

We have to do better at LOVING people EVERYWHERE we go. IF we miss it, we MUST repent to those who saw us fail. We all will fail and as the church, we have to start doing what James says, "confessing our sins one to another." God help ME recognize when I am failing the truth of the gospel by my selfish, fleshly actions. Father, forgive me!

We think nothing of buying a friend a meal, yet we want to skimp on blessing our "servers". Choose to go into the restaurant KNOWING you will be leaving a good tip and then, IF there is an issue, adjust accordingly.

A quick way to know how much to start your tip price at (for those who are a bit math challenged) is: Take the tax amount (listed on the receipt) and double it. (Most taxes are around 8% give or take a point.) That will put you above the 15% starting point for a reasonable tip. Then go up from there if service was better than average.

Note - this is a secular article talking about Christians. God help us BE the church that reflects YOUR image - generous, kind, blessed, and desirable.